Composition of matter.



FRANK T. SCHULLER, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

COMPOSITION OF MATTER.

No Drawing.

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK T. SCHULLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of vI-Iennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compositions of Matter, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a composition of matter comprising a new and useful combination on alloy of aluminum with certain other metallic ingredients whereby the aluminum is rendered tough, resilient and malleable and not subject to fracture. Natural aluminum is light and strong but cannot be bent and beaten or forged to ad vantage because of its extreme brittleness and liability to fracture. Yet, because of its lightness it is a desirable substitute for steel for many purposes. It is the particular object of myinvention to produce a metallic alloy of aluminum which will retain the lightness and resistance to oxidation of the pure metal and have qualities of toughness, resiliency and pliability which fit it to be used as a substitute for steel where a light structure is demanded, particularly in connection with certain types of vessels such as submarines, and in flying machines.

I have discovered that a metallic alloy consisting of aluminum and a small amount of tin and phosphorus combines the above-indicatcd desirable properties of aluminum and steel. Phosphorus, in combination with the tin and aluminum, operates greatly to increase the toughness of the aluminum and to render it in a high degree flexible and malleable.

In carrying out my invention I preferably employ from ninety-six to ninety-eight per cent. of aluminum and from threeahdthree- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 29, 1918. I Application filed August 6, 1917.

Serial No. 184,649.

fourths to one and eleven-sixteenths per cent. of tin and three-fourths of one per cent. to three-sixteenths of one per cent. of phosphorus. Thus, in one hundred pounds of the final composition effective results are obtained by employing ninety-six pounds of aluminum, three and three-fourths pounds of tin and one-fourth pound of phosphorus. These proportions may be varied up to the condition in which ninety-eight pounds of aluminum are employed, one and eleven-sixteenths pounds of tin and three-sixteenths of a pound of phosphorus, and corresponding ratios between these limits will produce the desired result. The second formula given, in which a relatively smaller amount of tin is employed, is of course somewhat cheaper to manufacture, but will not'be quite so effective in its results as the metallic com position produced from the first formula.

For convenience in compounding, the tin and phosphorus may first be formed into a separate alloy in the proportion of eighty pounds of tin to five pounds of phosphorus. This alloy may then be used in the proportions of two, three or four pounds of the tin phosphorus alloy to ninety-eight, ninetyseven or ninety-six pounds of the metal aluminum, .producing proportions in the final alloy similar to those given above.

I claim:

A composition of matter consisting of aluminum, tin and phosphorus incorporated and combined in proportions of ninety-six to ninety-eight per cent. of aluminum, three and three-fourths to one and eleven-sixteenths per cent. of tin, and one-fourth of one per cent. to three-sixteenths of one per cent. of phosphorus.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK T. SCHULLER. 

